I’ll admit it. I’ve become a Twitter addict. I’ll cover all the wonderfulness garnered from social media in another post. For today I want to share something I saw in my Twitter stream a while back: “If you get an email about a position respond to it.” Sounds like basic common sense, but believe me, common sense isn’t all that common.

How can something as simple as a response to an email help you in your job search? Let’s suppose ABC Company’s HR department sends out an email for an appointment or requests more information. You read the email, close it and think, “I’ll get to that later.” Or you grab your appointment calendar, enter the appointment date, time and location and go on with your life. On the sending end of that email is “Susie HR clerk”. She knows she sent the email, is pretty sure you got it, but …. maybe she better call. Then again, maybe she better wait a day or so and give you time to respond. She’s wondering and you’ve added a follow up her “To do” list.

Sure, lots of email programs have a confirm receipt attachment. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes the recipient responds. Sometimes they click “no.” And yes, there are programs you can use to track things electronically, in the background, but wouldn’t it be easier if we all took a minute to communicate?

Do we really need technological intervention? Susie can ask for immediate confirmation in her email. You, as the recipient, can dash off a quick, “I’ll get you the info by noon tomorrow” or confirm the appointment with a brief, I look forward to seeing you on the 5^th at 2. Really. Something as simple as “got it” or even better, “thank-you” takes a lot of the wonder out of business communications. And think about how you’d feel getting an email that just said “thank-you.” Along with eliminating wonder about receipt, it spreads a little joy.

Lest you think I’ve gone all hearts and butterflies on you, consideration is a great selling technique. You’re out there marketing your skills to a potential employer. Every single bit of contact, at every level, should exhibit your ability to communicate professionally, participate as part of a team and attend to the details of the task at hand. If you make the HR clerk’s job easier, don’t you think there’s a chance she’ll say something good to her boss about you? You’ve got a cheerleader on the inside and all it took was a moment to make it “all about them”.

This may not guarantee a rise to the top of the pile, but if 10 appointments are made and you’re the only one considerate enough to complete the circle, I’d venture to guess, it will help. In addition, you’ve let potential employers (and clients for that matter) know you follow-through. You make a difference. You complete the circle. You make the effort to communicate. You’re considerate. You’re a professional. And think about it, you did all that with “Thank-you.” click.

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know I’m actively involved with Monty’s Home. One project I’m working on is to improve email communications by using an email marketing service. This means, I not only had to manually enter every address we’ve accumulated to date – long, boring, technical story – it also means I’ve taken over entry of the hand-written email addresses when we gather them at events and drawings.

 So, let’s talk about handwriting. I am amazed. People take their time to fill out communication cards and don’t take the time to make it legible. I deciphered arrows leading to other parts of the cards, intuited letters using what little info I had and added .com or .net where appropriate. (Is it now .com “understood”? I missed that memo.) Hopefully, through bounce backs, phone numbers and repeat visits to our booths we’ll capture the correct information and reach these people. Otherwise, they’ll miss out of news they told us they wanted to hear. Why? Because they didn’t make sure they communicated contact information clearly. They assumed the reader would “know” what they meant. 

 Seeing this got me thinking about job seekers filling out applications. True, a good many companies use online applications now, but you still find companies that have you sit down and fill out an application by hand, on the spot. Be ready for it. No chance to have someone with better handwriting fill it out. It’s up to you. Yes. Even in filling out applications by hand, you have to write for your audience. This means, make it legible. Print neatly. Don’t assume people care enough about you to sit there and figure out what you meant. Make it clear for them. I’ll take the time to correct contact information for the non-profit group, because I value each and every supporter. A busy hiring authority doesn’t have that same motivation about you. They take the “Can’t read it? Next.” approach.  

 Another thing I noticed while doing all this entry was the number of people who used work email addresses to get information about personal interests. Never is it OK to get personal information at work addresses. Sure, companies seldom impose email use standards in good times, but in crunch time, misusing company resources can be used as grounds for dismissal. Plus, if you do leave the company abruptly, voluntarily or by request, you risk losing personal contact information. Better to set up a Gmail account and access from … wherever, than depend on the “security” that you’ll always have access to your well-developed network on your employer’s database – you employer’s database.

  Go set up a personal, Web-based email account. Keep your personal information and professional network safely backed-up there. And from now on, make sure you neatly hand write contact and other information when asked. Your second grade teacher wasn’t wrong. Neatness and penmanship do count … even in this “text-driven” society. 

In addition to operating a successful resume writing business, I also have a very busy pet sitting service – Snug as a Bug. I know. Very odd combination, but it works. And it combines my two passions – writing and animals.

Since my pet sitting service offers in home care for people’s pets, I spend a good deal of time in my car going from client to client. A few Sunday’s ago I was listening to The Garden Hotline, with Ralph Snodsmith on our local talk radio station, The Big Talker.

At one point during the show, Mr. Snodsmith told listeners to send their garden questions to him via email. He then went on to give “his rules” for emailing. At first I thought, you’ve got to be kidding. How arrogant. I couldn’t believe he was telling people what he will and won’t read based on the presentation of the email question. He went so far as to say he deleted unsigned, badly worded and unpunctuated emails. Oh my.

Then he said something that quickly changed my opinion of his position on emails. He said, “I’m giving you my time to read and answer your questions. The least you can do is present it in a readable format, in proper English.” I went from “how arrogant” to “right on Ralph” in about 2.7 seconds.

His comments made me think back to the emails I used to get when I was a professional recruiter. Frequently, I’d get a blank email with an attachment and nothing in the subject line. Was that job seeker thinking about me the recipient? No. I had to open the email, figure out which of my 20 open job orders he was responding to and then figure out if he was a fit. Considering I frequently received more than 300 email responses for job openings in my inbox overnight, I’ll promise you, those “mystery emails” were opened last, if at all.

This writing from a reader’s perspective parallels the job search process. If you submit your resume via email, take a moment to draft a brief note to the person on the receiving end, letting them know why you’re contacting them. And take the time to do it in proper English, with correct spelling and punctuation. Don’t make them guess why you’re sending in your resume and don’t make them decipher some sort of coded shorthand with phonetic spelling. In my November 13, 2008 post, I told you the job search is all about them. That approach should start with the very first contact. Before they even see your resume, they’ll see your email. Make sure it’s a proper representation of the image you’re trying to convey.

Here are a few of Mr. Snodsmith’s “rules for emailing”. Following them will absolutely set you apart from the rest of the pack. 

1.  Sign your emails. Don’t assume your email address reveals who you are. And if it’s pertinent, put your location and contact information so the receiver doesn’t have to dig. I don’t care if it’s on your rez AND your cover letter. Put it in the cover email too.

2.  Make your subject line meaningful. Use it to help convey your reason for contact.

3.  If you’re referring to yourself, the correct way to do that is with a capital “I”, not a lower case “i”. Capital letters also begin sentences, names and proper nouns. (How difficult is it to hit the shift key?)

4.  Periods, question marks, exclamation points denote the end of a sentence. Use them.

5.  Spell out the information you’re trying to convey. L8R or UR GR8 is fine for a text message to friends. It is not appropriate for business correspondence.

6.  Use your spell checker (but don’t depend on it.) Take a moment to read what you wrote before you hit send and ensure what you’ve written is what you’re intending to say. (Good advice for EVERY email you send.)

Mr. Snodsmith boasts more than 50 years’ gardening experience. I’d say, in addition to gardening expertise, he offers an important lesson in communication.

On a final note:

As the United States prepares to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, remember, even with the current economic outlook, bailouts and a future filled with uncertainty, we still live in the greatest country in the world. Gather your friends and family and take a moment to be grateful for all life’s blessings. If you’re honest, you’ll find them way too numerable to count.

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was “thank you,” that would suffice.

Meister Eckhart

Happy Thanksgiving.